People high in the need for cognition are more likely to form their attitudes by paying close attention to relevant arguments (i.e., via the central route to persuasion), whereas people low in the need for cognition are more likely to rely on peripheral cues, such as how attractive or credible a speaker is. Psychological research on the need for cognition has been conducted using self-report tests, where research participants answered a series of statements such as "I enjoy solving puzzles" and were scored on how much they felt the statements represented them. The results have suggested that people who are high in the need for cognition score slightly higher in verbal intelligence tests but no higher in abstract reasoning tests. There were no found gender differences in the need for cognition.

Research has concluded that individuals high in NFC are less likely to attribute higher social desirability to more attractive individuals or to males.[1] Individuals high in NFC report higher life satisfaction.[2]